I have always been an adventurous sort. As a teenager I traveled the country, getting around by whatever means I could find. Coast to coast and very nearly border to border, I have tromped all over our purple mountain majesties. The United States is unimaginably large and even with as many miles as I racked up between toe and heel there is still so much of my beautiful country that I have not experienced.
Having said that, I can not possibly overstate how ‘other’ than what you have seen in the States lies beyond the boundaries of our fine republic. Not better or worse, just ‘other’ – different. Like how different mathematics is from philosophy. Like how different Mac is from PC. They may seem similar because they can fall under a common listing (courses of study and types of computers, respectively, for example), but if you have enjoyed the diversity of experiencing various cultures and social structures within the U.S., then you may be a good candidate for traveling abroad.
However, there are certain unknowns that bear consideration. Do you get travelers’ stomach? Are you resourceful enough to communicate in a place where you don’t speak the language? Are you tolerant of people who have a loose relationship with personal hygiene? Do you freak out at insects, bats, snakes, fungi or wild dogs? Does the thought of being served an odd-smelling fruit that you have never seen and eating it anyway because it would be a grave insult to refuse such hospitality make you a bit queasy? Do you know the difference in pitch between homemade fireworks and live gunfire or the lid of a dumpster and a concussion grenade, for that matter? Can you deal with varying firmnesses of bedding from hammock to the ground? Or do you have unlimited funds with which to stay in fine hotels and if so, how much local culture would one experience through taking dinner poolside?
Whatever your answers to this only partially tongue-in-cheek questionnaire, suffice it to say that after two weeks in Honduras, I am completely drained and yearning for some amber waves of grain. We accomplished our intended work here on this trip and I have learned much to better future trips. In fact, we are already setting plans to return late February, 2012, but today was our last full day here and I have turned my face towards Atlanta. I am leaving behind dozens of new and dear friends here in Honduras but this Georgia boy needs some peaches and boiled peanuts – you know what I’m sayin’? Okay, maybe you don’t but I think a little longing is good for the soul.
I wish I had the words,energy and stamina to write all that has transpired here right now. I still have so many stories and families to share and those posts will be going up as next week goes along. For now, I am accepting that I am fatigued, going to sleep and catching a plane tomorrow. Here are some fun pictures. See you Stateside!
- Joaquin, Digna, Mady, Claudia, Vaughn, Miguel and Hunt (l to r)
- our buddy, Ozmani and his mother, Kenia, in Linares
- the girls of Linares playing in the churchyard
- Vaughn, Adalid, Ozmani and Hunt (l to r) another day at the office
